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11.21.2010

This week I'm delighted to feature Helen Jerlach and her design-savvy kids' goods at numsi. Her philosophy isgood design should surround us from the start--a mantra with which I wholeheartedly agree. A true mom-trepreneur, Helen features stuff kids love: animals, vehicles, simple words, and pretty patterns. And although the items at numsi are 100% kid-friendly, they will also exist harmoniously among parents with even the most discerning tastes. Clean, colorful, and absolutely unique imagery defines her lovely line of modular wall art, t-shirts, prints and other delightful objects. The best part is that you don't have to be a kid [or] have a kid [or] know a kid to love her stuff. Oh, and she digs custom orders that are as unique as you.

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Lucky day, Helen is kindlygiving away the super cute gift set (above)--including a green apple paper suitcase with a 5" x 5" panel, plus a matching mini mirror and card with a fun giraffe graphic. Wouldn't this be the perfect complement to any gift for the kiddos on your list this year? Or perhaps even more fun to keep for yourself!

2. Share a link to this giveaway on your own blog, twitter, or facebook. Then leave a comment stating you did.

3. Become a fan of Numsi on facebook or follow on twitter. Then leave a separate comment if you did.

4. Leave an additional comment telling what your most treasured Christmas gift was as a kid...

Or do all 4 to quadruple your odds of winning!! The winner will be randomly picked and announced on {black} Friday 11/26.

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Q|A with Helen:

1. Your designs are such a breath of fresh air in a Sponge Bob Square Pants world. How did you find your creative niche, and how do you keep your ideas so fresh?Well thank you! Like so many people who start a business aimed at babies at children, I was inspired to start numsi after the birth of my first daughter five years ago. I couldn’t find any wall art that I liked, and as a very picky visual artist it suddenly occurred to me one day that I could actually make some myself! It took a couple of years and another baby to get numsi up and running as a business, but I haven’t looked back since! I have an MA and an MFA in Fine Art from Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland, and have been working collaboratively as an installation artist with my husband for the last ten years. Creating art for kids was a bit of a change of pace, but I took my love of clean, crisp, minimal things and tried to apply it to bright, appealing uplifting imagery. A lot of my designs are based on daily life with my kids. We spend a lot of time at the zoo, for example. I’m always looking for new inspiration, and it’s great to try and re-view and re-frame the world through the fresh, excited eyes of my children.

2. Describe your perfect day.

My perfect day would be waking up to find that I am mysteriously transported to a seaside town where we can walk along the beach, play in the sand and go for great fish and chips for dinner. Ideally somewhere temperate, not hot, and in fact a rainy day at the beach would be just fine. Growing up two minutes from the coast in Whitley Bay, in north east England, means that living in the Midwest has me longing for the sea. But aside from that, we love living here. So a perfect day in Minneapolis means the whole family waking up without the screech of the alarm clock, a leisurely breakfast (my five year old has just started making us breakfast, which is amazing) followed by art and craft time with the kids. A walk in the neighborhood, a stop for coffee and cupcakes with the kids and then some quality time in the studio designing new products sounds lovely. Some good, productive uninterrupted work time (well interrupted only by a flood of shop orders!) followed by dinner out and an uneventful bath and bedtime for the kids would be great. On a perfect day it would be wonderful to do something fun with my husband, like go and see a film, but on a normal day it’s back up to the studio to begin the night-time shift.

3. What is one tool you couldn't live without?The one tool that I couldn’t live without is coffee. Seriously! Running a business, working as an artist, sometimes teaching, and having a young family means something has to give, and alas it’s usually sleep. But, as a real actual tool, I would have to say my wide-format printer. We have a very tempestuous love-hate relationship but I suppose deep down we need each other.

4. What would you say is Numsi's biggest accomplishment?My biggest accomplishment with numsi has got to be attending the All Baby and Child Expo in Vegas last month. It was my first ever trade show and ABC is the biggest juvenile product event in the industry. The event was insanely huge, almost too big to walk around. I got a spot in the Modern Child Pavilion alongside favorites like Skip Hop, DwellStudio, Oeuf etc and had no idea what I was letting myself in for. When I arrived to see my small pile of stuff in a 10’ x 10’ ugly booth, surrounded by constructions which looked like design museums dedicated solely to one (beautifully-lit) brand, I almost cried. But, I just had to get on with it and set up the booth as best I could. I built walls and put up vinyl lettering and assembled a bunch of Ikea furniture... And with lots of coffee and very little sleep I got it done. I have to say I was pretty proud, all in all, even when the next day I had to move my booth. Overall, the Expo was an amazing experience; I met some great people, hung out with some peeps I only “know” online, saw some amazing brands that once upon a time were just one person and their dream, and learned a lot. Going to the expo was a giant leap out of my comfort zone, but it was one of the best things that I ever did for the company.

5. Where can we find more of your work!?You can find more of my work online at

hello there!

i'm jessica. this is where i share everyday beauty and joys in word, craft, and photo. i adore pastel colors, believe in simple living, and thrive on warm sunshine. i love sharing life with my handsome photographer husband and our small, busy boy. we live in a white house with a red door in minneapolis, minnesota.pleased to meet you.

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